Ice Cube

It's a circuitous, if singularly American, story: a groundbreaking
gangsta-rapper who became a groundbreaking solo artist, who in turn
became a serviceable drama and comedy lead, a less-serviceable action
hero, a regurgitated family-film actor and, finally, a regurgitated
gangsta-rapper. Today, O'Shea Jackson — better known by all but
his kin (and perhaps them, too) as Ice Cube — is a bit of
everything to everyone. To tots and teens, he's the cartoonish star of
lucrative-yet-forgettable multiplex fare. For the college-aged and
post-grads, he's the creative force behind the seminal stoner film
Friday and countless '90s singles. And to graying hip-hop heads
from Generation X, he is and always will be a cornerstone of the mighty
N.W.A., a legacy so cemented even a napalming XXX sequel dropped
between two Are We There Yet? series nukes didn't make so much
as a dent in his reputation. This tour promotes Raw Footage,
Cube's self-released, mostly well-received follow-up to 2006's hollow
Laugh Now, Cry Later. Go ahead and call it a comeback. Trick
Trick opens. Tickets $38.50. — Noah Bonaparte Pais